Scientists at University at Albany are building a $24 million weather monitoring network that will collect information across the state. In a continuing series, we explore how that information will be made available to the general public.
There's a science behind using data collected from the environment to predict the weather. Brockport professor Scott Rochette teaches it:
“The forecast process that I talk about with my students is a four-step process and the first process is observations. If you don't have observations and measurements, you don't have anything.”
Once up and running, 125 weather stations of the New York State Mesonet will be collecting hundreds of data points and analyzing them. This raw data will be helpful to meteorologists, but scientists at University at Albany are also looking at ways the public can use that data.
Nathan Bain is the senior software engineer of the project. He came to New York from the Oklahoma Mesonet, and he's building programs to help people access the information and drive applications specific to people's information needs.
“In Oklahoma there's even a model that tells you how stressed your cattle are. So if it's wet and its cold you need to feed them extra things, you know," Bain said. "There's so many things it almost boggles the mind. But the website will provide those applications to the public.”
Bain says the program’s still in its early phases, and he's mostly concentrated on the website's launch this year. So some of the more advanced applications may have to wait.
As part of an ongoing series about the New York State Mesonet, next we’ll explore the economic impact of the network.
